If you are interested in being a mentor, or a guest speaker, or otherwise supporting WOT as it undertakes its national expansion (the first location out of Florida is Detroit), please go to:  www.womenoftomorrow.org to find out more about the wonderful organization and the wonderful work that our own General Counsel does in the community through WOT.

Among the proposals; more amenities on our public beaches; more taxes and reducing garbage pick-up from twice to one time per week. Residents also seem to prefer higher taxes rather than reduced services.

Danburg Management specializes in office space and warehouse leasing in Boca Raton and is one of the largest contributors to the City’s tax base. We’re happy to contribute to making Boca Raton a great place to live and work, but our agenda is a bit different.

1. Promote economic development – we need to bring in companies that provide high-paying jobs. This will help increase the values of our homes and our businesses and create more tax revenue.
2. Promote planned mobility and workforce housing. The Planned Mobility Land use legislation will reduce travel times by bringing employees closer to their workplaces. There are a number of luxury rental developments on the table right now, that will not only increase the City’s tax base, but also make it easier form companies to attract quality employees.
3. Reduce plan review times. Even if a company wants to come to Boca Raton, there are significant delays in getting construction plans approved. We need to make the process more efficient to make it easier for companies to locate in Boca.

While we are pro-development, we also realize that our natural environment must be preserved and it is these attributes that continue to make Boca Raton a desirable place to live and work. We believe the Planned Mobility Land use will help us to achieve this objective.

Over 30 percent of the office space in Boca Raton’s northwest corridor sits vacant while the City is experiencing a tax shortfall that threatens to raise property taxes and is reducing needed government services. Yes, the economy is a primary culprit, but we all need to make positive steps to avoid a potential downward spiral. I have attached two key articles; one illustrating the city’s fiscal woes and the other a story on the decline of California that shows what can happen here in Boca Raton if we all don’t pull together to improve our situation.

I have personally been involved in a number of initiatives to help reverse the downward trend. The most important of these is the Planned Mobility Land Use legislation proposed for our City. By adding workforce housing and service retail throughout the city, we create a sustainable ecosystem that will provide a draw to corporate relocations and bring high paying jobs to the area. This will provide much needed tax revenue and increase the value of our homes and our businesses

Boca Raton has its great natural attributes, fine residential communities, excellent public and private schools, three growing universities in the public spotlight, and a public park system that is the envy of all South Florida municipalities. The name Boca Raton still carries a positive image that can help to attract more business to the area. But now more than ever, we need a proactive approach to economic development. The first step is to pass Planned Mobility which will be discussed again at the Planning and Zoning Workshop at City Hall Thursday night at 6:30.  I urge you to join me in this effort and welcome your comments.

Key Articles to Read:
The Great California Exodus – Wall Street Journal, April 20, 2012. A leading demographer talks about what is driving the middle class out of the Golden State.

Boca Raton looking for ways to cover projected $5 million budget gap   Sun Sentinel, April 23, 2012
Mayor Susan Whelchel: “The bad news is that we have cut just about as much as we can cut and there’s basically nowhere else to go.”

Jamie Danburg: “We need to increase tax revenue. There are 2 choices. Increase property taxes or create an environment that attracts more business and tax revenue to our area. Take your pick.”

“We had the privilege of working with Julia on a number of projects, said Jamie Danburg, President of Danburg Management Corporation.  She was a true professional and a credit to the city.  We’ll miss her a lot.”

“Julia’s true passion was singing and per her wishes, we have made a donation to Master Chorale of South Florida in her memory.  We encourage others to do the same”

For more information on Master Chorale, please visit http://masterchoraleofsouthflorida.com

Julia’s obituary  is attached below and can also be found at http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-04-12/news/fl-obit-boca-julia-trevarthen-20120412_1_planning-master-chorale-julia-trevarthen

Julia Trevarthen, Boca Raton’s planning, zoning and development director, died Wednesday following a three-year battle with uterine cancer. She was 51.

“She had an amazingly sharp and incredible sense of humor her whole life,” said her sister, Susan Trevarthen, town attorney in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. “She was a multitalented person. Everything she did, she excelled at.”

Ms. Trevarthen was born in Louisville, Ky., and moved with her family to Boca Raton in 1972. She graduated from St. Andrew’s School, received an undergraduate degree in music theory from Florida State University and a master’s degree in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Prior to taking her position with Boca Raton in 2008, Ms. Trevarthen had been an assistant director with the South Florida Regional Planning Council and director of its nonprofit Institute for Community Collaboration. Earlier in her life, she was an interior designer.

Ms. Trevarthen loved music and theater, from early performances at the Delray Beach Playhouse to singing with the Florida Philharmonic Chorus and the Master Chorale of South Florida. She also belonged to the Gold Coast Quilters League and the Junior League of Boca Raton.

For more of Paul’s shots, visit:
http://morphoto.photoshelter.com/gallery/Marlins-Park-Opening/G000060LV39Gx4TQ  (Marlins Park Shoot)
www.morphoto.com (Paul’s Website) or;
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Morphoto-Inc/100364741602 Morphoto on Facebook

What was most interesting to me about this news was the way I found out; which is a clear indication of how much the media has changed in our country. We can all remember where we were when we found out about the monumental news stories of our time. Granted, this is a far cry from monumental news for anyone over the age of twelve; but it was important enough to make the front page of today’s South Florida Sun Sentinel.

So, how did I find out? Was it a TV news story was it on my car radio, was I on the Sun Sentinel web site? No, I was one of the first to know because of a text my 15-year-old daughter received from a friend of a friend who goes to St. Andrews. Between the internet and our mobile devices, we are more connected than ever and that has major implications on how we get our news and even bigger impact on how we sell our products.

To a social media marketer, Justin Bieber represents an opportunity to reach his mass of followers and hopefully their parents as well. Bieber is in town to congratulate three students who raised $51,738 for Pencils of Promise, one of Bieber’s favorite charities. The nonprofit group has built more than 50 schools around the world. You have to give the kid a lot of credit.  With all of the international fame, he seems to be doing things the right way and has kept himself remarkably clean. And his music isn’t nearly as annoying as some of the other stuff out there.

Our tweets on the Obama visit were listed alongside major news organizations and political groups. Our objective is to promote Boca Raton and get the interest of corporate executives who would consider relocating their companies to our community.

It doesn’t matter who you are going to vote for in November, but you can bet that we’re going to do more Blog articles, Tweets and Facebook posts when Obama returns to Boca Raton to face Mitt Romney in the final Presidential debate on October 22 at Lynn University. (see our Blog post from last November)

The Boca Raton business community needs to embrace these opportunities to get our community in the news, with positive stories That is what will help to draw more quality business and jobs to Boca. This will help us to fill our office buildings, make your businesses more successful and improve upon what is already a great quality of life here in town.

Welcome to The “London Times”

London, the Standard Poodle, owned by our own Jamie Danburg and Michele Molnar has been grabbing national headlines with his 63 Best In Shows, including the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. This section is a real-time digest of the life of America’s top show dog. Check back often for updates. Click Here for Volume 1 featuring AKC/Eukanuba and Westminster

We’ve also added a Facebook album on Danburg page, showcasing Jamie, Michele and London’s journey in NYC during Westminster Week. Check out our page here: Westminster Album

Click to follow London

April 8, 2012

London takes another BIS in Saginaw Michigan.

According to http://dogshowpoop.blogspot.com

Best went to the nation’s Number One Non-Sporting Dog, the Standard Poodle, London.  London is also the country’s Number Seven Dog All Breeds with 15 BIS this year, the most by any dog this season.

Dog Show Poop has London as #2 in it’s top ten rankings behind Fifi The Doberman. London finished ahead of the Doberman on in Michigan on Sunday while the Fifinator won her 12th BIS of the season Saturday. It looks like these two will be going head to head, or snout to snout all year.  London loves to compete with his friend Fifi, they’re both great dogs and we look forward to many more BIS’s for both.

April 1,2001 – No Fooling – London Impresses in the Land of Cheese !

London was the big winner in Manitowoc Wisoconsin this weekend taking two more Best In Shows, running the count to 65 BIS titles !  According to Billy Wheeler at www.bestinshowdaily.com:

“The reigning AKC/Eukanuba National Champion has a habit of taking a weekend off and coming back with all his batteries charged to have a multiple BIS performance. This weekend London was in Manitowoc, WI, to pull off back-to-to-back BIS at the Packerland Kennel Club’s two shows. “

 March 16, 2012

March Madness goes to the Dogs

As March Madness gets into full swing, Boca Raton’s  London The Standard Poodle is in basketball-crazy Louisville Kentucky for the Louisville Kennel Club’s annual Dog Show.  London is competing for his 64th “Best in Show” Title.

To put it in perspective, London’s 63 Best in Shows are equal to number of wins by Muhammad Ali (The Muhammad Ali Center is in his birthplace of Louisville) plus the seven National Championships won by the University of Kentucky. (The University of Louisville has 2 more championships)   London won the prestigious AKC/Eukanuba National Championship back in December and has 12 Best In Shows already in 2012.

The event takes place from March 15th – 18th at the Kentucky Exposition Center. The Louisville Kennel Club was founded in 1886 and has been holding annual competitions since 1915. For those of you celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this weekend, remember that Kentucky produces 80% of the World’s Bourbon which is a great American alternative to Irish Whiskey. London also wants all his fans in Kentucky to know that his favorite toy is a squeaky replica of a Louisville Slugger.

March 13, 2012

Regardless of the Man, Some

Things Never Change:

This article on Dognobbit.com from March 8 could be about any guy who’s a superstar in his field. But this one is about our favorite Standard Poodle. Click here to read more about London and his entourage which includes Jamie and Michele !

Top Ten List – Still #1 !

From Dog News

1
GCH CH Jaset’s Satisfaction (London)
8073 Points Poodle (Standard)
B Harris/M Molnar/J Danburg

2
GCH CH Protocol’s Veni Vidi Vici
7897 Points Doberman Pinscher
S Lundy/D Lundy/J Mullins/K Mullins

3
GCH CH Oakley’s B’Dazzled
7703 Points Setter (English)
D Jenseh/G Jensen/E Strickland/J Strickl

March 12th, 2012

Grooming a Path to Victory – Backstage at the AKC Eukanuba Championship with London, getting a rare look at London’s “do”. (click photo to view the video)

2012 Barkfest at Bonhams – Charitable event
“Hundreds of dog lovers and art aficionados enjoyed a wonderful morning at the AKC Barkfest at Bonhams on Sunday, February 12. The event supported the AKC Humane Fund, Inc. a 501(c)(3) charity that promotes responsible dog ownership through education and grantmaking. ”
See Photos (also see photo, right)

March 8th, 2012
BEST IN SHOW 63 TODAY
Pictured with Ann below:

March 4, 2012
What a weekend ! Back home in Florida, London won his 59th and the milestone 60th Best In Show at the Pensacola Dog Fanciers Association Event. Two days earlier he won his 58th ribbon taking Okaloosa Kennel Club BIS honors in Fort Walton Beach. You can tell from Vincent Zuniaga’s photo provided by at Dog Post Daily that London was very excited with the results ! So were his fans and his family at Danburg Management. We also searched the archives to find a great article on how London became a show dog and how he got his name at petside.com.

Volume 1 features earlier coverage of America’s Top Show Dog including his dramatic win at AKC/Eukanuba.

Another year, another opening day.  Last year’s Danburg Baseball Opening Day video featuring Aroldis Chapman has gotten over 340,000 hits on Youtube.  That’s a tough act to follow, but here goes: (You can click on the thumbnail for our video and click on the pictures for larger versions for more photos see the album on our Facebook Page)

Tuesday night March 6th marked the first appearance by the Miami Marlins at the new Marlins Park on the former Orange Bowl site. Ticket sales were limited to 10,000, so I was one of the lucky few who were among the first to take in the fan experience at the $500 million new venue.  Just a reminder – if you don’t have $500 million to spend on a new building please consider leasing with Danburg Management !

Overall,  I came away somewhere between extremely impressed and blown away with the facility, the architecture, the intimacy and the overall experience. Driving down from West Boca took just under an hour and it’s about 20 minutes further than Sun Life Stadium. The good news is that you drive against the rush hour traffic and it’s a fairly easy ride in. One immediate plus, even though the skies appeared threatening, the retractable roof means that weather is not an issue.

We pulled right into the new 3rd base parking garage, took the elevator down and we were literally right next to the stadium. To describe the exterior in one word, I’d say space-age (does that count as two?)  I felt like I was walking into a deco-inspired spaceport.  It was heartening to see the number of fans wearing Marlins gear with the new logo and colors – a good sign that fan support is building. I wasn’t crazy about the new look at first, but I admit it is growing on me. Even Billy the Marlin is sporting the new colors.

Overall, the seats were comfortable as stadiums go, the sight lines are great. It’s a huge facility, but it also feels intimate. We were behind home plate but as you go along the baselines the stands curve in so all seats face second base. This saves you a trip to the chiropractor after the game  and corrects a major weakness of Sun Life.. One of my favorite features was the center field Jumbotron which gave me the feeling of watching big screen HD in my family room. There are some interesting vantage points for standing room along the outfield fence. There seem to be plenty of concession stands with plenty of choices. The big upgrade is air-conditioning. It will make those Sunday day games a lot more bearable and probably help the team in terms of reduced fatigue over a 162 game season. We watched the roof close at game time which was a 12-minute process.  We were also able to connect to the free stadium wi-fi. Sometimes, you may want to know something about a little-known Marlins player like Terry Tiffee.

The stadium has three unique features that add some character. The huge windows beyond the left and center field fences will provide panoramic views of Downtown Miami, although we couldn’t see out at night.  In addition an aquarium is built into the backstop as you move up the first and third base lines. Finally, there is this “thing” in center field. We’ll call it a thing for now, someone will come up with a name. It is a colossal tropical sculpture – to me it looks like Little Havana meets Yellow Submarine.  It is moved enough toward left field so as not to enter the batter’s line of sight but you can’t miss it as a fan.  I am told it will do something interesting when the Marlins hit a home run. In fact, the biggest letdown of the night what that the “thing” was not allowed to do its thing when Hanley Ramirez hit the Marlins first homerun in the new park.

From a baseball standpoint, this is going to be a pitcher’s park. It’s 419 feet to an unusually high center field fence. While left field at 340 feet is 10 feet deeper than Sun Life, right field at 335 is 10 feet shorter.  But that quickly extends to 392 feet in right center, which will turn a lot of homeruns into outs. There will be some interesting bounces as the rounded enclosure for the “thing” extends into a nook in center field reminiscent of the “bermuda triangle” at Sun Life.

As for the game, the Marlins faced the University of Miami. The Hurricanes actually led 6-5 going into the bottom of the ninth before the Marlins rallied to win on a walk-off hit by Terry Tiffee, a journeyman infielder who last played in the majors in 2008 (thank you stadium wi-fi). A couple of recognizable names on the UM squad were Michael Broad, the star of East Boytnon Beach’s Little League World Series Champions of a few years back and Alexander Fernandez son of Alex Fernandez, a former UM star and key contributor to the Marlins 1997 World Championship. Fernandez struggled and Broad got hit by a 92 mph Ryan Webb fastball, but it was good to see them out there.  On the Marlins side, Hanley Ramirez looked like he will be just fine at 3rd base and added his 2-run homer.

You can see the Aquarium below the green padding

So if you’re wondering whether to catch the Marlins in 2012, it’s definitely worth the trip. The team, which has been pretty good over the past couple of seasons on a minimal budget, has loosened the purse strings and will be much improved. Miami has always loved a winner, but fans have been largely apathetic about the Marlins despite their two world championships. If he team can avoid injuries and its young stars continue to develop as expected, they can contend in 2012 and beyond. There are no more excuses about the stadium, the rainouts and the budget. This will be the start of a new era in Marlins Baseball. Whether the $500 million spent on the new venue was a wise investment for the city remains to be seen. To put a spin on the cliché, now that they’ve built it, will we care ?  I’m a big baseball fan and a Marlins fan and I’m still not completely sold on this community’s willingness to embrace the Marlins.  It will certainly be interesting to watch and if this team can live up to it’s potential, there is a good chance we will care after all.

To see all of our photos, check out the Danburg Management Facebook Page

Ken Silberling – Director of Business Development

Update:  While it was not a problem on March 6, there has been a lot of concern over parking with only 6,000 garage spots and 37,000 seats.  (See Sun-Sentinel Story) The  city will need to address the  problem before the Yankees come to town for exhibition games on April 1 and 2 and the regular season home opener vs. the Cardinals on April 4.  As a fan, I hope they can get it worked out.

Update #2: Look who’s quoted in the front page  Sun Sentinel follow-up article . My response to the article: 

“Thanks for the mention.  Thinking about it, we used to pack 80,000 fans into the Orange Bowl, parking on people’s front lawns and pumping cash into the local economy.

The answer may be some old fashioned American capitalism. The Marlins need to reach out to the local residents and help them to make it easy for the fans to find parking. This is an amazing venue to watch what could be a very good team. Whether it was a wise decision to build the stadium is no longer an issue; there is no undo button. If it’s successful, it’s good for South Florida, if it fails, nobody wins. Give it a chance.”

- Final thoughts:

1. Was is a good idea to build a $500M baseball stadium in this economy? Probably not.

2. Was the Orange Bowl Site the best location ? No way, but it’s the only place the deal could get done.

3.  Would it have been a good idea to make the stadium accessible to mass transit ? Absolutely.

4. Are you happy the place got built? Absolutely again.

5. Even though you’re a big Marlins fan would you be happy if you were a Dade taxpayer  ?  No way.

6.  Did Marlins ownership drop the ball on parking ? Could be – let’s hope they can fix it.

7. Should taxpayers be footing the bill for facilities where multi-million dollar athletes do their jobs ?

Now that’s a really good question and possibly another blog topic.

Those of us who use the internet to market our products understand how important it is to be number one on Google. Google is responsible for about two thirds of all searches on the internet and an entire industry of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has grown out of finding the best ways to get Google to recognize your site. One of the best methods is to  to create fresh blog content even if it’s as silly as this. At Danburg Management we are always working to make sure that when you are searching for Office Space or Warehouse in Boca Raton, www.danburg.com is near the top of the list.

Maybe it’s the language barrier, maybe it’s just a strange coincidence, but apparently one man in France decided not to be number one on Google, he decided it was more important to do number one on Google ! Not surprisingly, the article was published by our  friends at Yahoo. Click here for the article.